Innovation in an instant: Why some ideas take time to catch on

Some innovative ideas develop more quickly than others, but human interaction is “the key force in overcoming resistance and speeding change,” Dr. Atul Gawande argues in his latest New Yorker article.
Dr. Gawande, a staff writer for the New Yorker and a surgeon at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, writes about the developments of anesthesia and improving birth practices in one of India’s poorest states, in the latest issue of the magazine. In the piece, Gawande also looks at the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.Way Too Early host Brian Shactman, Mike Barnicle and former senior adviser for the McCain–Palin campaign Nicolle Wallace on Thursday discussed a key part of Gawande’s story, the “rule of seven touches,” and its importance in overcoming resistance and changing people’s minds about a new concept.
“You must also apply ‘the rule of seven touches.’ Personally ‘touch’ the doctors seven times, and they will come to know you; if they know you, they might trust you; and, if they trust you, they will change,” Gawande writes.
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Watch Gawande’s Morning Joe interview: